0:01

Wonder Curiosity Connection

0:03

. Where will your adventures take you

0:05

? I'm Dr Diane , and thank

0:07

you for joining me on today's episode of

0:09

Adventures in Learning . Welcome

0:18

to the Adventures in Learning podcast . I

0:20

am so excited to welcome back Alicia

0:22

D Williams to the show . Last year

0:24

we talked about picture books and steam . This

0:27

year , we're going to talk about her new book

0:29

, which is coming out this month Midair

0:31

. If you have not bought a copy

0:34

of Midair , I want you to rush out right

0:36

now , pause the podcast , pre-order

0:38

the book and then come back and join us for this

0:40

conversation , because it's that good

0:43

. Alicia , welcome to the show .

0:46

Thank you so much for having me back again

0:48

.

0:48

I am so happy to have you here

0:51

. If people want

0:53

to know more about you and the picture books

0:55

, I'm going to tell them to go back to last year's conversation

0:57

, because we're going to focus on all

0:59

new stuff this year . Let's

1:01

talk about Midair . Tell us about

1:04

this beautiful book . What prompted

1:06

the writing of it ?

1:09

There are two things that prompted the writing of it . One

1:11

, at the success of

1:13

Genesis Begins Again , I

1:16

was afraid . I was struggling

1:19

with fear . How do I do that ? What did I even

1:21

do ? Can I do it again ? People

1:23

are going to expect the same thing . It

1:26

took me a while to figure out

1:28

how to write another book of

1:30

that magnitude . Once I battled

1:33

fear , I was able

1:35

to prove to myself that , yes , I

1:38

can write another book . That was one

1:40

inspiration I had to prove to myself

1:43

that I could write another book . The second

1:45

was I was struggling so much

1:47

with during

1:50

the pandemic and the social

1:52

justice arrest of 2020 and 2021

1:54

, I was grappling with

1:57

the world and how

1:59

we don't view

2:01

boys the

2:03

same way as we view girls . We

2:06

don't show them any grace . So

2:09

I want to understand

2:11

how come , with all these different

2:14

events happening over and over again , how

2:16

can we couldn't see little black boys

2:18

as little black boys ? Why do they have

2:20

to be thugs or

2:22

criminals first ? So in that

2:25

examination blossom

2:27

midair and it actually

2:30

tackled more than I was hoping

2:32

for or expecting to tackle

2:34

.

2:35

Well , let's start with the idea of fear

2:37

, because Isaiah

2:39

, your central character , he's gripped

2:41

by so much fear , in terms of

2:43

the terrible things that

2:46

happened that sort of lead him to having

2:48

to confront society

2:51

, but also just the fears of being an eighth

2:53

grade boy who's trying to find his authentic

2:55

self , to find a way to

2:58

show himself in the world . Talk

3:00

a little more about Isaiah . He is probably

3:03

one of the most captivating characters I've

3:05

read in years .

3:06

But Isaiah

3:08

is

3:10

how can I say this

3:13

? Because we like to categorize boys

3:15

into this one big clump

3:17

and

3:19

we don't allow them to be different

3:22

. So Isaiah is

3:24

different and when you read a lot of the

3:26

books , we kind of fall

3:29

into a category of how they might

3:31

sound , how they might act and

3:33

their hobbies . And

3:35

Isaiah debunks all of that . He

3:38

is a black boy who is sensitive

3:40

, and not just he's a black boy . He's a boy

3:42

who's sensitive . He's

3:45

a boy who's gentle , he's a

3:47

boy who likes

3:49

rock and roll , which is not necessarily

3:51

a black genre

3:53

. He's a boy who loves plant

3:56

life . So I experienced

3:58

with Isaiah this sensitive

4:01

soul and I wanted to put him

4:03

on the page expressing

4:06

that . And because of the fear

4:08

, we expect boys to all be tough

4:10

, right , we expect them to do every

4:13

stunt , we expect them to sometimes subscribe

4:15

to the masculine toxicity and

4:18

he doesn't . He

4:21

doesn't . So that

4:24

fear is genuine . How

4:27

can a boy like Isaiah

4:29

exist in a world

4:31

where , if you paint your nails

4:34

, which is nothing but a necessary , it's

4:38

an attack on your masculinity

4:41

, your gender identity , if

4:44

you like to plant

4:46

, there's something's wrong with you ? So

4:49

I want to explore that with Isaiah

4:51

.

4:52

And I thought that you also sort of carried that

4:54

through to Drew as well , his best

4:56

friend , at the start of the book

4:58

. You know Drew could easily fall

5:01

into so many stereotypes and

5:03

he doesn't . He's also operating

5:05

from a sense of trying

5:07

to figure out who he is and how he fits

5:09

in and sort of this pain , and

5:11

they share a common loss but they approach it very

5:14

differently , right

5:16

.

5:16

So you have these three boys best

5:18

friends . The Darius is

5:21

the first one . In Isaiah that

5:23

friendship is solidified . And when tragedy

5:25

happens and Darius is no longer in the picture and you

5:28

are left with the other two best

5:30

friends , drew and Isaiah , they

5:33

both struggling with grief . But you're

5:35

right , I figured that Drew

5:38

, coming from a more urban setting

5:40

into this suburban setting , one

5:42

he has to adjust , but

5:45

it parallels Isaiah

5:49

, because Isaiah

5:51

gives him a sense of calm , isaiah

5:54

gives him a sense of peace , and

5:57

Isaiah and Darius offer

5:59

this innocence that he

6:01

isn't able to have , you

6:03

know , in his environment . He has to be

6:05

tough . He is exposed to realistic

6:08

events that happen in the world

6:10

, where Isaiah is kept in a kind

6:13

of bubble Right , and so he

6:15

is able to just escape to

6:18

Isaiah's world

6:20

and just be a kid , whether

6:22

it's using his imagination , watching

6:25

anime movies or martial arts movies

6:27

. He can just be . But he has to

6:29

play this dual relationship of balancing

6:31

how not to be such a kid

6:34

and to be sensitive but

6:36

to also be , you know , have

6:38

the weight of the world on his shoulders . He has to take

6:40

care of his brother who has sickle

6:42

cell . He has to take care of his mom . He has all

6:45

these responsibilities . So with

6:47

Drew , you're right , he keeps

6:49

this in .

6:52

He handles it much differently than Isaiah

6:55

.

6:55

Yeah , and I loved the balance between

6:57

the two boys . Do

7:00

you have a passage you want to share before

7:02

we move further into talking about the book

7:04

?

7:05

Yes , I want to share because , speaking

7:07

on the sensitivity

7:09

, one of the big parts

7:11

of this book that I want to explore , not

7:14

just why boys can't have

7:17

to , why boys , not

7:19

just why boys have

7:21

to be tough . I want

7:23

to explore why boys

7:26

are not encouraged to be their

7:28

full selves and to explore . But

7:31

girls girls can be

7:33

tough and they can be sweet and

7:35

we encourage girls to have girl powers

7:38

, to be a firefighter , do whatever

7:40

. But boys , that is not

7:42

what boys do . So I want

7:44

to challenge that and so I

7:47

want to read a little bit about that

7:50

experience . Pause

7:52

, mom and I fall back

7:54

letting our bodies be swallowed up by recliners

7:57

for our Sunday afternoon movie ritual . Last

7:59

time it was my choice , spider-man

8:02

, yeah , again . Today's

8:05

hers . She sifts through at least

8:07

100 movies in her save list while

8:09

ragging about my hair getting out of control . It's

8:12

her to watch list as out of control . People

8:16

think you're a thug . She says it's

8:18

not that bad . I assure her Sighs

8:21

think I'm going for a Bosque out

8:23

. Look , she squints at me which

8:25

one . I sneeze

8:27

. Mom reminds me to take my

8:29

allergy meds . I'm not a baby

8:32

. I remind her You're my baby

8:34

. She reminds me I'm

8:37

burning to ask if dad's renewing his job

8:39

, but she'll give me the . You've been listening to

8:41

my conversations . Look , then

8:43

it'll get serious . When I just want to chill

8:45

, mom chooses the photograph

8:48

. Five minutes in , I

8:50

can tell it's not going to be funny . She

8:52

paints her nails and says how cute the guy

8:54

lead is . Says his hair is nice

8:56

too . Mom , I grown

8:58

Now . She's got me thinking about my hair

9:01

and Drew's cut , which reminds me

9:03

to ask her for parental permission for our mission

9:05

. Then it's rules , sure

9:08

, but what will you two be doing exactly

9:10

? She holds up her hand admiring

9:13

. Haven't figured that out , but we're

9:15

working on it . Nice , I

9:17

compliment her nails . The color

9:19

is the deepest purple I've ever seen . Purple

9:22

so deep it could have been siphoned from

9:24

the galaxy . Purple , so purple

9:27

. Prince would have written a song about it . Purple

9:29

, so black , it looks like magic

9:31

. The pudges slick on our

9:33

nails like honey . I joke

9:36

she could shoot sprockets from her fingertips

9:38

. I already imagine the flames I shoot

9:40

for mine Just as quick . Seven

9:43

year old becomes crashing in and

9:45

mom's heels stomping all over with . He

9:47

gotta be tough enough , kay . Mom

9:50

, I hesitate . You think

9:52

it'd be weird if I tried polish ? She

9:55

pauses a paw so small

9:57

I don't think she even realizes

10:00

it ? No , not at

10:02

all . But was her paws

10:04

the real answer ? Lessons

10:07

, mom was told me

10:09

. She always wanted a girl to

10:12

teach her to be brave , bold and

10:14

fierce . That's what she told me . But

10:16

God saw fit to take away one

10:18

of my ex chromosomes . Turn

10:20

it wide . Guess

10:23

those lessons . Those lessons

10:25

weren't meant for me .

10:31

Wow , that

10:34

really is powerful . And you

10:36

know , as I'm listening , I'm realizing

10:38

that the parents are also

10:41

conflicted . You know , the parents are central to the story

10:43

and they're beautifully written

10:45

. I mean , I love the relationship that they have

10:48

and the love that

10:50

they carry for Isaiah , but

10:53

clearly they're also struggling as

10:55

how do we parent this sensitive boy

10:57

? Where did you draw the inspiration

10:59

for the parents ?

11:02

I drew a lot

11:04

from me in the overprotectiveness

11:07

I have for my daughter

11:09

, but also the same protective-protectiveness

11:12

that I have . So many other

11:14

mothers are having that and so

11:16

many other fathers are experiencing that too

11:18

. How do we manage to

11:21

keep our children innocent

11:24

for as long as possible ? As

11:26

an educator , I saw that with parents

11:29

Like I just want them to just not worry

11:31

about what's going on in the world , just be a kid

11:33

. That stuff can wait . So

11:36

, balancing this idea of I

11:38

want you to be a

11:40

kid , but I also want to kind of prepare

11:42

you that people will judge you how

11:44

they see you , people will want

11:46

to attack you because of these things . So

11:48

it's a fine balance that we all

11:51

have to walk the idea of protection

11:53

versus putting

11:56

what you need , the armor that you

11:58

need to survive in this world , and

12:00

trying to figure out what is the proper age

12:03

group to prepare them

12:05

to burst that bubble of protection

12:07

. Yeah , that's

12:09

one of the things . And because

12:12

he is still protected , I wanted

12:14

this family to

12:17

be one of

12:19

love as well as struggle . So

12:21

mom is living her

12:24

best life as a plant stylist

12:27

, digging

12:29

into plants but also styling people homes

12:32

, and that's a rare career

12:34

, right . And dad

12:37

didn't make it into the book , but he's a

12:39

Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist

12:44

and because

12:46

dad's bubble has

12:48

been burst a long time ago and

12:51

he has taken

12:54

so many pictures of death that

12:57

his story parallels

12:59

Isaiah's as

13:02

well , so I needed

13:04

them to know what it's like , because

13:07

we do as parents , we know exactly what

13:09

it's like . We

13:12

just want to just oh , I just want

13:14

you to be my baby for a little longer . I

13:16

want you to just be my baby .

13:19

Now that makes sense , and you and I had

13:21

been talking about our own daughters before

13:23

we got on this call , and they're about

13:25

the same age , they're in that 24 , 25

13:27

range , and I

13:30

think that this generation has

13:32

gone through so much From

13:34

the moment they

13:36

were babies . There's always been a crisis

13:39

and it's hard

13:41

not to want to put your arms around them

13:43

and protect them and say it's going to be

13:45

okay , even though we can't

13:47

make that promise at this point that it's going

13:49

to be okay .

13:52

There is no way that we even

13:54

know for ourselves that it's going to be okay

13:56

. We watched the news and we know

13:59

what's going on , not just in this world , but

14:01

all over A few years

14:03

ago it

14:06

was during a pandemic , and you know that

14:08

age group is definitely on TikTok , they're on

14:11

social media and mental

14:14

health was definitely destroyed for a lot

14:17

and it's still being controlled

14:19

and anxiety is the all

14:21

time rate , as well as suicide

14:24

rates . But I recall

14:26

my daughter calling me at 3am and

14:29

that's the only reason why I keep my phone on 3am

14:31

. She had a full blown panic attack

14:33

and I'm having to calm

14:36

her down through the phone . You know , calm down , calm

14:39

down . And she was like is there anywhere

14:41

we can go and be safe ? Is there anywhere

14:43

in the world that we can be safe ? And

14:45

you want to say yes , but you

14:47

know everywhere , everywhere

14:50

, there's something . So you're right

14:53

. And Isaiah and

14:55

Drew and Darius

14:57

, they have to face their world

14:59

isn't always safe , their

15:01

world isn't always safe . And how

15:03

do we as parents and we know that

15:06

if we could just protect them , if we could just hold

15:08

on to them , even if they're a million

15:10

miles away , if we could just be that parent ? But

15:12

we know we don't have that kind of control , right

15:15

, we don't have that kind of power , and it's

15:17

just , it keeps us in an anguish and

15:19

it keeps them . We try to protect them

15:21

of our own fears , right

15:23

, exactly .

15:26

Well and all we can do is prepare

15:28

them the very best we possibly can

15:30

and then be there to love them no matter what

15:33

. And I don't want to spoil the book

15:35

because you know it's so powerful

15:37

, but I love the way that you sort

15:39

of bring particularly dad and Isaiah

15:42

full circle and

15:44

there's just this beautiful moment you know you kind

15:46

of allude to it in terms when you

15:49

read the passage just now about

15:51

there was that moment when dad said you've

15:53

got to be tough , and then it

15:55

has this gorgeous arc where they're both able

15:57

to be vulnerable and to grow through that

15:59

. And I thought that was

16:02

rare and wonderful because you might see

16:04

that more often in fiction in a mother-son

16:06

relationship , and to see that with the father

16:09

was truly special

16:11

. It kind of gave me some hope

16:13

.

16:15

It does give me hope because those

16:19

fathers exist . They do

16:21

you always see . You could

16:23

see and easily remember the

16:25

ones who are always hard , the ones

16:27

who you know stories as

16:29

storytellers is easy to always stay

16:32

there , because that's what we see . You know

16:34

you can't have any weakness , you can't be

16:36

feminine , you can't be this . I need

16:38

you to be a man . There

16:40

are those fathers who you'll

16:43

occasionally see . They remind

16:45

you yes , they're there . That

16:47

says it's okay

16:50

to show your emotions , it's okay

16:52

to cry , you have feelings , it's

16:54

okay . And I see that

16:56

now more often . I saw

16:58

a video of a

17:00

teacher talking about his students

17:03

saying you know he was crying . He was like hey

17:05

, hey , toughen up

17:07

. And his students said

17:09

I'm allowed

17:11

to have feelings . And it just clicked with him like

17:13

oh , I've

17:16

been perpetuating this and

17:18

, yes , he's right to have feelings . So

17:20

I wonder if we're having an awakening

17:22

as well . That are young

17:24

. That generation

17:27

is a young generation Because

17:30

they have been through so much . They're

17:32

more in touch with their feelings where we weren't allowed

17:34

to have any feelings right .

17:37

No , I think you're 100 percent right about that

17:39

, that I think they're more sensitive

17:42

to their feelings and I do

17:44

see not

17:46

all men , but I'm seeing more men sort

17:48

of be able to connect to

17:51

and break through that programming

17:53

. I mean , if I could see my 81-year-old

17:55

father do that , I have faith that

17:58

everybody can do that and I've seen him break

18:00

through years and years

18:02

of that kind of programming . You know the being

18:04

the military officer and serving

18:07

in Vietnam and just the layers upon

18:09

layers of stuff and he's

18:12

now one of the most sensitive guys I know

18:14

and I'm like , okay , it's possible

18:16

you know , I've seen it with my own

18:18

husband and kind of the work he's

18:20

done to be a better father to our girls

18:23

and I think that

18:25

it is possible . But I think this generation

18:27

has it figured out so much more than we did

18:29

. That is your right , You're

18:31

right , which is hopeful

18:34

, and I loved the fact . Also , you know

18:36

I'm a North Carolina girl myself . So I do

18:38

love the fact that you send Isaiah home to

18:40

North Carolina at one

18:42

time and I

18:44

loved his aunt and uncle and I could

18:46

just 100 percent

18:48

put myself in that environment . I pictured

18:50

a North Carolina summer and again

18:53

, I love the diversity of experiences

18:55

and relationships you brought into that , because

18:58

it's a totally different socioeconomic

19:01

community than what Isaiah is growing

19:03

up in . But he finds

19:05

a way to conquer his fears and

19:07

to find a sense of

19:09

who he is down there and

19:11

I just I loved that contrast

19:14

. What made you decide to shift

19:16

him out of his suburban home and send

19:18

him to North Carolina ?

19:20

Yeah , I was playing with parallels

19:23

in this book and

19:26

I think that was the biggest , the

19:28

biggest thing . I wrote so

19:30

in many other drafts . Dad

19:34

was struggling with other things , like

19:36

he being a photojournalist . He had

19:38

seen so much and

19:41

he needed it to get

19:43

away . And I

19:46

didn't want him to go away and

19:48

mom be angry . I wanted

19:50

to show how a family looks when they support

19:52

each other as well as through their mental

19:54

health issues . Dad

19:57

needed to get away , so he took a job which

19:59

will make a sacrifice

20:01

for the family to hey , you're going to be without me

20:03

. But he needed to get himself

20:05

together and be in a different environment

20:08

, to see the world from a different view . And

20:10

that is a hard move to

20:12

say . I need healing , so I need

20:14

to take myself out and , like you say , reprogram

20:17

myself . Drew

20:20

does this too . He has

20:22

to escape his home life and

20:24

the realities of his world . He

20:26

goes to Isaiah's house

20:29

and Daris' house because

20:31

he need peace , to think , to just

20:33

be and to let things go Right

20:36

. I

20:38

played with that . And how would

20:40

that look like for Isaiah

20:43

? Where could he go ? And

20:46

it just made sense because

20:48

you hear this throughout

20:50

history that , oh

20:52

, I sent my kids away for the summer and

20:55

they come back a different kid

20:57

. You're like , oh my gosh , you changed so much

20:59

. You're taller , you're grown

21:01

that being away from your

21:03

mom and dad , who have

21:05

sheltered you and

21:08

kept you safe and reminded

21:10

you to do all the things , like when you send them

21:13

off to camp , don't forget to change your underwear

21:15

, don't forget to brush your teeth , don't forget

21:17

to put it on the other right . Yep , you're not

21:19

there to do that . They have to become solely

21:21

independent . They have to , even

21:24

with an aunt and uncle who love

21:26

them . It's not the same as a mom

21:28

and dad .

21:29

Yeah .

21:30

So that , to me , was like that is

21:32

exactly what he needs . He needs

21:34

to find his own way with the love and support

21:36

of family , but not someone who's going

21:38

to remind them to do every single

21:41

thing and point out his mistakes

21:43

as well as what he did right . That

21:46

is the genesis of the parallels

21:49

and him becoming who he is and

21:52

he'll from what he's gone through

21:54

.

21:54

Well , I thought it worked beautifully . Are

22:00

you tired of same old , same

22:03

old professional development experiences

22:05

? Check out what recent workshop

22:07

participants have to say about doing

22:09

a workshop with Dr Diane's Adventures in

22:11

Learning Great hands-on

22:13

session that included real ideas to incorporate

22:16

in the classroom . Wonderful

22:18

Lots of great ideas and fun

22:20

science experiments . It was great

22:22

to be able to see how to make connections between

22:24

the stories and science . If

22:27

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in Learning at wwwdrdianadventurescom

23:05

. We hope to be in your school

23:07

soon . And

23:15

the other thing I was thinking as I was reading this

23:17

you wrote

23:19

this as a novel in verse and

23:21

in my mind that is probably the

23:23

single hardest way to write for middle

23:26

grade . But when it works Kwame

23:29

Alexander , jackie Woodson , jason

23:32

Reynolds and you you

23:34

make this an art form

23:36

that you don't realize . You're reading poetry , you're

23:39

just reading a good story , but boy

23:41

, you get a lot of bang for your buck with the

23:43

words . How did

23:45

you go about sort of taking the story

23:47

and putting it into such a beautiful form

23:50

?

23:52

I promise you , I am sitting here

23:55

silently thanking you . So now

23:57

that you gave me pause to speak , thank

23:59

you . Thank you for seeing that

24:01

. I

24:04

was just thinking how I didn't grow up really

24:07

reading poetry . It was intimidating

24:09

, it was not accessible , the

24:11

words and the imagery I couldn't relate

24:14

to , and probably what they gave

24:16

me or what I was exposed to

24:18

was just too hard for my palate at the

24:20

time .

24:21

Yep .

24:24

Had I had novels in verse , I

24:26

probably would have grown

24:28

to love not just poetry but

24:30

to learn how to read

24:33

and read and imagine at a more

24:35

earlier age than later having

24:37

to . So , coming

24:40

to this book , I did not intend

24:42

to write a novel in verse . I did

24:44

not intend to write a novel in verse . I

24:47

wrote it as prose , I

24:50

put it out , but initially

24:52

I had

24:54

Isaiah become

24:57

more quiet

25:00

, he became inward , so he wasn't

25:02

speaking a lot . You might see that a little bit

25:04

in his second journey down south , but

25:07

throughout he wasn't speaking . So

25:09

I got off the computer and

25:12

got a pad and a notebook I

25:14

mean a notebook and a pencil and that's

25:17

when it came out in a different form

25:19

, like a cicada way of speaking , and

25:22

the rhythm came out so differently

25:24

and I thought what

25:26

am I doing here ? Is this , is

25:29

this what I think it is ? And , as

25:31

I continue to commit to the process

25:33

, it just flowed

25:35

, not intentionally , I

25:37

think . He dictated how his

25:40

story need to be told and

25:42

I am so grateful

25:44

to whatever

25:46

I have power that it works

25:48

, because I think that was my biggest

25:51

fear , because I did not grow up

25:53

reading this genre . I know I studied

25:55

this genre as an author , I

25:58

pulled every book off the shelf Like what

26:00

are the rules ? I'm looking at blogs , I'm looking at

26:02

craft . There are no rules , which

26:04

is what makes it work . Ah

26:08

, thank you . There are no rules , like

26:10

how do you do dialogue , what are you doing ? But

26:12

I think it's just to

26:15

hear . That is just mind blowing for me

26:17

and affirming to me as a storyteller

26:19

.

26:20

Well , I loved it and I agree with you . I

26:23

grew up on probably the same poetry you

26:25

did . It was the let's overanalyze

26:27

it and it became

26:29

intimidating and I didn't love poetry

26:31

. And even when I did my doctorate

26:34

, my advisor pushed me to look at poetry

26:36

with little kids and I'm thinking seriously

26:39

, you're going to make me live with poetry . But

26:42

I'm so glad she did , because what I discovered

26:44

then was that young

26:46

people love language and

26:48

they love playing with language . And it's really

26:51

, if you can have fun with it and

26:53

you present it not in a A

26:55

, b , c , d way , they're

26:58

going to go with it . They love it when you're

27:00

engaged , you know , when there's that emotional

27:02

tug to it . And I

27:04

think that what you're doing , and what

27:06

other authors who are doing the novel and verse are

27:08

doing , is you're making it so accessible

27:10

at such a younger age

27:13

and maybe you're unleashing a whole generation

27:15

of poets for us for the coming

27:17

years . Wouldn't that be

27:19

great ?

27:20

We need more poets

27:22

in our lives . I

27:24

wonder if you were like me that

27:26

I know we didn't have

27:28

poetry , but what I did

27:30

have back in a day cassette

27:33

tapes and albums that gave me the lyrics

27:35

and I would read

27:38

the lyrics . Maybe that was that poetry . I

27:40

did the same thing no , yes .

27:43

You had the album covers and the CDs

27:45

and the tapes where you'd open them

27:47

up , and you had like the long index

27:49

cards with the lyrics . That

27:51

was our poetry . It was , but

27:53

we didn't realize that and you know , everybody

27:55

did that and we were experimenting

27:58

with poetry . We just didn't realize it .

28:01

Yeah , that was . If they gave me more of that , perhaps

28:03

right . But now that we have it in

28:05

a book , you're right , maybe

28:08

we are creating a whole new generation of

28:10

storytellers that can not

28:13

only just who would have thought this

28:15

would exist ? It right , yeah , when

28:18

we were that they can take it and make more

28:20

of it and to flip it around

28:22

, because they always change what we do and they can

28:24

expand on the form . That

28:26

would be exciting as well .

28:28

Well , and what I love is seeing how that

28:30

form has developed just in the last

28:32

like 10 , 15 years , and

28:34

it truly crosses genres and that's

28:37

what's exciting about it . So Bravo

28:39

for having created something that's going to

28:41

be , I think , another

28:43

touchstone within

28:45

that canon . I really think

28:48

that middle grade teachers and

28:50

readers everywhere are going to gravitate to

28:52

this book .

28:57

Oh don't

28:59

scare me yet , but you know this is

29:01

the most frightful thing because

29:03

you , just when

29:05

you're online , you

29:08

know you're very vulnerable because

29:11

everyone's posting their star

29:13

reviews and you're like , oh my gosh

29:15

, it didn't get a star . And

29:19

I realized that People

29:23

receive

29:25

the book depending on their

29:27

mood , depending on their history

29:29

, depending on their beliefs and biases

29:32

, and so I

29:34

do know that every book is not for everyone

29:37

, but it is my hope that

29:39

this book is

29:41

great in its way for those people who

29:44

want to read it and that really

29:46

hits them and triggers in them whatever

29:49

they need and they hear and read

29:51

whatever they need . To be there best

29:53

selves , whether it's healing , whether it's inspiration

29:56

, whether it's joy . I

29:58

want that . That's my wish for the

30:00

books .

30:01

Oh , I love that . So I'm gonna

30:03

shift for just the little last little

30:05

bit we've got and I just wanted to ask . I see

30:07

you've got Post-it notes on the wall behind

30:09

you what are we working on now

30:11

?

30:17

You know you're very clever

30:19

. I

30:22

say you know it's so far back you can't see

30:24

all of this . But yeah , I

30:27

am on a roll now . I am on a roll

30:30

For

30:32

several years ago I

30:34

started a story and

30:36

it was dealing and I guess I'm one of those

30:39

writers who would just deal with so much in my

30:41

head , trying to understand it , things that are

30:43

making me angry , things I wanna bring

30:45

voice to , and I wonder if this is

30:47

my way to be an activist , because

30:50

I know that I am not the one to

30:52

march in the street . I don't have that

30:54

Proud

30:56

, I can't do the crowds or whatever . So

30:59

we all have a place and I want to

31:01

be able to say this is what I did , this is my

31:03

contribution . So I started

31:05

out with a story

31:07

that was dealing with gentrification

31:09

and where are the people

31:11

going that are being put out and I see it a lot here

31:13

in Charlotte , north Carolina , sure and

31:16

I was just trying

31:18

to figure out what would that look like , and

31:21

it morphed into something more . It

31:23

started with basketball girl who played

31:25

basketball and her community was changing and

31:28

, oh my gosh , the hate you give came out and I was

31:30

like , oh no , I can't have basketball because she's

31:32

a basketball player , even though it could be more

31:34

Right . What a basketball ? I

31:36

don't know what I was thinking . I just didn't want to be called a

31:38

copycat , I guess , and

31:41

I put the book away and

31:43

this is way before Genesis came out

31:45

and it just in

31:47

the last few years . I picked it back up again

31:50

and I thought I discovered , with

31:53

everything that's going on , the history

31:55

of our people

31:57

in the swimming pools . So

32:00

it is about a ragtag team

32:02

of swimmers and

32:05

a connection to the

32:07

historical past

32:09

of swimming and the prevention

32:12

of swimming .

32:15

Well , I can't wait to see that one

32:17

, and we'll have you back on the podcast when

32:19

your new book comes out , but

32:21

in the meantime , I want everybody to run out

32:24

and seriously pre-order midair

32:26

. It's coming out later this month and

32:28

it's such an amazing book . Alicia

32:31

, thank you so much for joining us on the Adventures

32:33

in Learning podcast today . It has been such

32:35

a treat to catch up with you .

32:37

Thank you so much for having me once again .

32:41

You've been listening to the Adventures in Learning podcast

32:43

with your host , Dr Diane . If you

32:45

like what you're hearing , please subscribe

32:47

, download and let us know what you think , and

32:50

please tell a friend . If you want

32:52

the full show notes and the pictures , please

32:54

go to drdianadventurescom . We

32:57

look forward to you joining us on our next adventure

32:59

. We'll see you soon

33:02

.